Bitcoin Splits; Price Still Stable

We’re right at the middle of what is probably one of the most important weeks for Bitcoin, with the price stable around the $2,700 range, or very close to the highs of two weeks ago before the idea of Bitcoin Cash spread online. As you might already have noticed if you keep your Bitcoins offline, as of yesterday there are two Bitcoins in existence, the regular old Bitcoin and the new Bitcoin Cash.

Namely, on Tuesday, the price dropped slightly as news came out that the blockchain has already forked, or split. Shortly after the split, miners in support of the new cryptocurrency were already working on creating more Bitcoin Cash coins, while the split-off digital currency started trading in the futures markets at some Bitcoin exchanges.

Shortly after the split, Bitcoin Cash had a jump to $422 before dropping over 25% to $214 and later below $200, only to recover and go back up again over $400. The coin was traded only in a limited number of exchanges, while others choose not to support it yet. According to Amaury Sechet, a lead developer behind the new cryptocurrency who spoke to CNBC, Bitcoin Cash is yet to prove itself and gain trust but is already got an “amazing” level of support.

Market at a Stalemate

Luckily, Bitcoin’s split didn’t have a drastic effect on the price. In the past week since our last update, the lowest point was hit on Tuesday, when the price dropped to $2,616.10 very briefly after it hit its peak at $2,775.05. Currently, the price is stabilizing near the $2,700 mark, while the market signals a consolidation around this range.

The trading market stats show there is high interest in Bitcoin right now, with the current volume being $1.3 billion, while the market cap is relatively unchanged at $44.6 billion.

Our technical analysis shows neither buyers nor sellers have the upper hand, with 6 out of 12 moving averages sending a buying signal while 6 are pro-sell. Out of 12 technical oscillators, 5 are pro-buy while 4 are neutral. The SMA 100 is still over the SMA 200, showing the upside path is where the least resistance is.

With the current stats, it seems that the price will be consolidating around this range, with the future course up to the trading trends. As always, keep a close watch on the price for any signs of changes.

Got Cash?

Bitcoin Cash officially came into existence with a great dose of confusion, as many users outside of the tech community didn’t really understand how the split will work. It also took several hours for the first completed blocks for Bitcoin Cash to be confirmed and ease suspicion that miners will actually go through with the new coin.

Another thing that might have baffled users is that not every Bitcoin exchange voiced support for the new cryptocurrency, so only a part of Bitcoin holders actually received Bitcoin Cash. Namely, anyone who owned Bitcoin before the split will be recorded as owning coins on both blockchains. However, a number of leading exchanges didn’t decide to recognize the cryptocurrency, so only some users were credited with Bitcoin Cash while others were left behind.

Luckily, most exchanges warned users days before, so anyone who would have wanted to get Bitcoin Cash could have moved their coins to a hard drive to avoid the blockade. But if you haven’t already, it would be too late by now. And considering the potential support for Bitcoin Cash, it might have been a good move to do so.